Back in the saddle: Part 2

Over the weekend Marcus and I finished building the fence and worked on hauling away tons of crap from the backyard. I was able to enjoy the weather and get on the Monster Saturday for a short ride. Unfortunately there won't be any riding today since the temps dipped into the 30s last night and there's some frosty areas on the road. I'm not quite ready for ice yet.

I finally got my butt back on the bicycle Saturday for a team ride. It's been about 5-6 weeks since I've ridden and it felt great to get back on. I did realize that it's a little strange hopping on the bicycle after I've been riding the motorcycle all week. I nearly crashed just getting out of the driveway!

The team ride headed south around the lake and then around Mercer Island. My legs were tired at the end but I held up surprisingly well given my hiatus. Last year, one of the guys on the team crashed me out on one of my first team rides. We've joked about it ever since. As we were approaching the Mercer Slough I was riding behind him and not fully paying attention (bad idea) and ended up overlapping wheels. I have no idea how I didn't go down but there was a serious "Oh shit" moment there. I think we need to stay away from each other from now on. Haha. I seriously can't believe I did that. I'm finally just about healed up from the motorcycle crash so the last thing I need is to go down again.

It was exciting to see some women out on our team ride. Looks like we've picked up at least 10 women this year so I've now stepped up into the role of women's team captain. Next year should be fun!

My Monster

I finally got a picture of the Monster yesterday, now I just need to get a picture of me on it. You can probably see the nice dent I put in the tank right on the Ducati logo. Bummer, but I'll probably get it fixed sometime in the near future.

I've been riding to work this week and I feel so much more comfortable now. As of yesterday I've added about 75 miles to my riding experience - yay! I ended up riding home in some sprinkles yesterday so I decided to keep the bike home today and ride tomorrow when there's definitely no chance of rain.

The bike is headed to Ducati tomorrow over lunch. Yesterday it backfired pretty badly on a cold start, so I'm not sure if it was just a bad day or if it might need an adjustment. It's already loud with the aftermarket exhaust so the backfire sent everyone ducking for cover. It's also idling a bit low and it wouldn't hurt to have it checked out from the crash. Since Ducati is downtown and I work in Renton, I might have a great excuse to do my first interstate ride. I took the windshield off the bike since I think it looks much better without it, but we'll see how it is going 60+. I've only gone 50-55 so far and you definitely get blown around a bit.

It's so much fun to ride!

The Monster Rocks

I spent an hour in the Wizards of the Coast parking lot doing figure 8s on the Monster. I was scared as hell and riding pretty sketchy when I first started. After a few laps I was going faster, relaxing, and getting smoother with the clutch and throttle.

I'm sure everyone was entertained watching me weave around the little islands in the parking lot. I prayed I didn't drop the bike since I'm sure I had tons of co-workers watching from across the street.

After a while I started getting my confidence back and since it was getting late decided to head home. The ride home was awesome fun! I did great, felt good, and even handled someone pulling out right in front of me. Some guy on an R6 stopped next to me in Renton at a light and tried to start up a conversation. Unfortunately my bike is so loud all I could do was smile and wave. Haha!

The construction crew on the corner that helped me when I crashed waved enthusiastically and gave me a thumb's up when I cruised by. How embarassing! I feel much better now and I think if I continue riding back and forth to work and doing drills in the parking lot there I'll be just fine. Saweet!

Back in the saddle

I was bugging Marcus all weekend about getting the Ducati fixed so I could get back on it. Then when we finally got it fixed and running again last night Marcus took it for a test spin and then said, "Ok, it's all yours!" I stood there for a minute and thought, "Hmm, ok. I'm not sure I want to get on it now." I dragged myself inside, geared up, and talked Marcus into dropping the bike down the street at the Marina off Lake Washington Blvd. At least I could hop on then without any tight turns to negotiate right off the bat.

I sat on the bike for a while and decided I had spent way too much money on gear and had too much fun riding to not get back on, so away I went. I cruised up and down Lake Washington Blvd a few times with a deathgrip on the handlebars. After a while I started to relax but since it was my first time riding since the crash and my first time nearly in the dark I found it hard to go much over 30. I was VERY easy on the throttle and really nervous about turning but did just fine. At one point Marcus was worried I had been out for a while so he ended up cruising up behind me as I headed home. He said I took the left turn to the house so slowly he worried that I would tip over.

I decided to hop on today and ride to work. I'm very tentative and nervous about turns now and I wasn't before. I'm getting ready to leave work and head over to the empty parking lot across the way and play on the bike. I figure I need a nice empty lot with no traffic worries to get familiar with the bike and learn how to control the throttle better. I think doing laps in the parking lot for about an hour will really help me get familiar with the bike and increase my confidence. Here we go!

Healing

It's officially been one week since I crashed my motorcycle. It really doesn't seem that long and I can barely even remember the details anymore. I've since found out that having Tegaderm on your knee caps sucks, so I took it off and let the scabbing begin. My hip road rash was a bit worse so it's taking longer to heal. I landed pretty squarely on my left knee and it feels very stiff and tight and I'm having difficulty with certain movements. I'm seeing my knee specialist on Friday to make sure I didn't do anything damaging.

Barring any kind of serious knee problem, I'm planning to head out on the Zoka team ride this weekend. It's been about four weeks since I've been on the bicycle and two weeks since I've hit the gym or done any running. I'm going to chunk out man!

Last night was Petsmart training for Jake and he's progressing really well! The class is a riot. There's nothing like 6-8 dogs needing training all locked up together in a small room. I found out the secret to getting Jake to walk with me is getting him a harness. Works like a charm and no more pulling! The trainer also told me we've been overfeeding him, which is likely why he's been having overnight bathroom accidents. I lightened up his food and voila! No accidents last night!

Tonight is the season-finale of Project Runway...I can't wait!

Here's some updated pictures. My hip looks nastier than it really is. The white area is the deepest part of the road rash and is still healing. The rest isn't too bad. The darker part on the lower right is where the fluid under the Tegaderm is collecting. Gross, isn't it? The road rash on my knees looks pretty wimpy now.

Road rash is lovely...

...especially on bendable parts. Ugh, remind me next time to get road rash anywhere but my knee caps. Well, almost anywhere.

I'm starting to heal up just fine from Wednesday's crash. I can finally bend both of my knees and the most swollen one is starting to look much more normal now. The scrape on my hip is fading and now getting itchy. The patch of road rash above my hip is still a bit nasty but looking much better than it did a few days ago. My elbow is the only concern I have. It looks the least banged up, just a light bruise, but it's giving me the most trouble. Hopefully I didn't crack it.

I plan to get the parts from Ducati this week to fix the bike. It's looking like the weather may be cooperative and I can get a few rides in later in the week. This time I'll have pants and boots!

The Injury Report

I think I'm going to rename my blog "The Injury Report". I really must start posting here again, there's just been too much happening lately and I'm letting everyone down!

Ok, first off, last week I finally got a dog. He's such a sweetie! I picked him up at the Bellevue Humane Society. He's a 9-mo old Lab/Chesapeake Bay mix named Jake. He hasn't had any training so he's not horribly mindful. I started him in puppy training at Petsmart last week so hopefully we'll turn that around! He loves walking, running, and playing fetch and is settling in pretty well. And he doesn't mind the cat, which is great.

Second big news: I got my motorcycle! On Tuesday I bought a used 2001 Ducati Monster 900 from Renton Motorcycles. Man is it sweet! As soon as I get a picture I'll post it. I rode it home from work Tuesday evening and it was a blast!

On Wednesday morning, I crashed my motorcycle. Yup, that's right. Less than 24 hours after buying it I wrecked it. I took off to head in to work, stopped at the 4-way stop 2 blocks from home, and crashed trying to make the left-hand turn. It happened so fast that I don't even remember what happened. I recall the bike sliding, then next thing I know I was headed straight for the curb. I remember thinking, "Shit, not good" and then I clipped the curb and went down. Even now I keep thinking, "Did that really happen?"

Some construction workers on the corner ran over, picked up the bike and made sure I was ok. All I could say was, "Shit!" Then someone handed me my shoe. I think there was some water in the intersection and in combination with the new tires on the bike I slid when I made the turn. All I really remember clearly was hitting the curb with the bike, then the road with my body. I might have jabbed the throttle, which uprighted the bike, and ended up high-siding. I'm really not sure.

I called Marcus, told him I crashed, walked home in a daze and crawled in bed. Haha! He rode the bike home and then looked at me and said, "Nothing is broken right? Everyone drops the bike, you're fine. Get up and go to work." What sympathy. I never would have guessed that I would crash a motorcycle so quickly. Luckily the bike isn't too badly damaged. I did unfortunately dent the tank, but the only other damage is a broken right foot peg and rear brake lever. Hopefully I can get it fixed this weekend and be healed enough to head out again next week. I don't think the crash has deterred me from riding, but I do think I'll be a bit nervous when I get back on.

My knees and right hip took the brunt of the fall. I regret not getting the motorcycle pants and boots I looked at since they would have saved me some damage. Luckily the gloves, jacket, and helmet all did their job. I ended up with some road rash on my right hip and both knees. My left knee is pretty swollen and my left elbow is bruised and sore. Other than that, I think I'm ok. Here's the gory pictures, which I swear look a little worse than the actual injuries.

It's official, I'm now a biker chick!

It's official! I have my motorcycle endorsement now and managed to learn how to ride without dropping the bike. I spent the weekend over at the Renton Boeing parking lots puttering around on a 250cc motorcycle in a training class. Man was it a f**** blast! Before this class I had never ridden a motorcycle so I wasn't sure what to expect. I can't say enough about how awesome the experience was. I progressed from being able to walk the bike across the parking lot (no power!) to being able to do fast cornering, stopping, swerving, and slow-speed maneuvers. I can't imagine why anyone would get out on the road without the skills they teach you in the class.

This morning our class learned some advanced drills and then practiced for the skills evaluation we'd have to do later. For some reason I'm still plagued by being unable to make slow, tight, right-hand turns. I have this problem on the bicycle and the motorcycle. There's a part of the skills test called "The Box". You basically enter a box and make a figure-8, which tests you on your ability to make tight U-turns. Despite my being completely unable to keep the bike inside the lines for the right-hand turn I went on to ace the rest of the test and passed! I had some serious nervousness going on for the test and was glad when it was over. One poor guy dropped his bike during the evaluation, which is an instant fail.

Now I just have to go to the DMV and get my new license tomorrow! Last week I put a deposit on a new Ducati Monster but it turns out the Dark model is going to take some time to get in stock. I can't wait to start riding so I'm looking at a used one tomorrow and if all works out I may forget about the new bike and get riding this week!